Feeder and sorter



May 6, 1930' R. G. cLApVK v 1,757,793

i EEEDER AND soRTER Filed Dec. 19, 1928 2 Sheefs-Sheet vl May 6, 1930. R. G. CLARK FEEDER AND soRTER I 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Dec. 19, 1928 Patented May 6, 1930 `nonnen: G. CLARK, 'or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK y "FEEDER Ann-scarna Application led December 19, 1928. VSerial'No.. 327,143. Y

'luy4 invention relates Vto feeders and sort- 1 ers of the belt conveying type. It has for its main object to provide a device whichk will positively arrange and deliver 4the articles,

'5 on which it is operating,in the correct position and at very high speed.`

Another object is to provide'a feeding andy sorting device which will not scratch, or in any Vother way mar or disligure the articles lbeingfed and sorted. A further object is Vto provide means wherebythe 'articles sorted out are automatically returned for resorting.:

' A still further Objectis to provide a device of simplebut strong construction, thoroughly automatic in all its operations, and coin-` paratively inexpensive to manufacture.

Y These and other objects and,V advantages will be readily understood from .theV following description andfrom the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment, but it will be clearly understood that various modifications may lbe made without 'departing from the scope of the invention. In the draw- -invs Y Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the preferred embodiment in which certain parts have been removed and others are shown in cross-section,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a cross-.sectional side elevation of certain parts taken'. on line 3 3 in Figl,

Figs. 4 and 5 are end views of Fig. 3.and show certain steps in sorting, and Y y Figs. 6 and 7 are fragmentary side views showing certain other steps in sorting. n

Figs. 1 and 2 are drawn to a smaller scale than the rest of the views. y

While the embodiment shown and described is particularly designed for feeding 4o and sorting bottle caps, or, as they are commonly called, crown caps, it will be'distinctly understood that I do not Wish to limit the invention to the feeding and sorting of these caps only, but intend to use it for any articles Y to which it may be adapted.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and2, the ma chine consists of a' pedestal 10 onv the flat upper surface of which are clamped two Vside vframes 11 and 12.y In Fig. l the sideframe,

11 has been removed to expose the interior parts. The sideframes,` which 'are muchv longer `than'the'top surface of the pedestal and overhang it in the front and rear, are provided with a number of bearings in which rollers 13, 14, 15 16 and 17 rotate.*An endtravel'is alsov indicated by several arrows., K

Power for driving the rollers is'imparted to the'pulley 19 which is attached on the shaft 6'6"V ofthe roller 13. Y All the rollersgare connected and driven by achain 20 which'engages onv sprocketwh'eels secured on the roller shafts.` These parts, while omittedon Fig. 1 Yare plainly shown on Fig. 42. A belt tightening device, yconsisting of a roller 21 rotatinglyy mounted in two levers 22 and23 which kare swingably mounted on the outside of the side frames, alwayslreeps the belt under'the right Y tension.

The rear ends ofthe side frames together with part of the belt 18 and a rear plate 24 form a bin 25 into whichtlie articles to be' fed and 'sorted are poured from the bucket conveyor 27 through the spout 26. The conveyor.willbedescribed later. A drag board 28 is located under tliebelt, asl shown, and is H secured to lugs 279 and 30 cast on the side frames. Y i y `A wire 31 is stretched across the bin 25 a short distance above the belt. A rotary brush less belt 18 operates'on these rollers, as .plain-'jy ly shown in Fig. 1 where the direction of its 32 isvlocated above theroller 14. It rotates in bearings 33 and 34 which are'adjustably secured to thel brackets 35 and 36. These brackets are bolted to the top of the side from theside frame. The bearing 39 is oifset i aV greater distance sidewardly from the side l frame 12 than the bearing 40. The bearings 37 and 39 also extenda greater distance outf wardly than the bearings 38 and 40. The axes of all `these bearings form a downwardlyv sloping angle with the side frames.

' Pulleys 411 and 42 are attached to shafts 43 and 44`which rotate in the bearings 38 and 40.

Y r fabric is indicated at 46, in Fig. l.`

Pulleys 47 and 48 are attached to shafts 49 and 50 whichgrotate in the bearingsg37 and 39. An ordinary, endless belt 5l engages on these pulleys. This belt is considerable longer and narrower than the belt and is set over even with. the outer 4edge ofthis belt.V

All these parts are also shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5; an examination lof these views will make it easier to understand the construction. Boththese belts are driven by a pulley 52, attached on shaft 50, and by two equal-sized gears 53 and 54,attac'hed, respectively, on shafts 50, and Y Y A bracket 55 is secured between the side frames and its constructionis such that its forward end 56 supports the belt 45while its, rear end supports an apron 57 over which the articles to be fed and sorted slide from the belt 18.v to the belt 45. A; stop 58eXtends along the outer edge of the `belt 45V and terminates in a chute 59. The chute is supported by abracket 60 attached to the forward end `56 of the bracket 55, while the stop 58 is attacheddirectly to the `forward end 56.

These'parts are also shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.V

A large hopper 61 is provided on one side Vof the machine. It is supported on legs 62 and its bottom 63 slopes downwardly from all sides so that the articles contained in the hop-perwill slide towards the loading openand discharge into kthe spout 26. The lower end 67 of the conveyor extendsbelow the bottom of the hopper so that the articles lwill-"be loaded on the buckets at the point 64. While the main part of the hopper is located at one side of the machine, an extension 68 extends inn-nder the rear plate 24 so as to receive the overflow from the bin l25 as it is discharged through the opening 69. i e

The rotating brush 32 is driven from the main shaft by a chain70 which engages with sprocket wheels 71 and 72, attached, respectively on the main shaft andthe brush shaft.

The machine operates in the following manner: The crown caps are placed in the 1copper 61,. from which they are conveyed to the bin 25 by the conveyor 27. If too many capsv enter4 the bin, the surplus is discharged back intothe hopper through the opening 69 and extension 68. The belt 18 conveys thecaps' from the bin 25.v As they travel upward wlth the belt, the wire 31 spreadsthem in an even layer. If any of the caps are nested one inside. another, they yare swept'back in the bin by the rotating brush 32. The dis-V tance between the brush and the belt is such that only single caps, in one layer, can pass between them. VThe caps continue with the belt until the point 73 is reached.

Referring now to Figs. 6 and seen that the caps, as they are conveyed from the bin 25, may rest on the belt with either 7, it win beV their top 74 or bottom 75 in engagement with the belt; The object in this particular case is tondeliver all the caps to the chute 59 with their bottom or open side up. As the caps pass-:over the point 73, they are almost all deposited on the part of the belt below with their bottom side up. Sorting in this manner is made possible by the particular shape of thevcap'.` 'If a cap is conveyed .bottom down particularly if they caps are fed so fast that one may strike another when passing over the point 73, some may be wrong sideeup. 4To i positivelyprevent such caps from reaching` the chute59, all theV caps are fed across the apron 57 and transversely onto the piled fabric 46 of the belt 45. Referring now to Figs. 3, 4', Vand 5, it will be seen thatany cap kiey livered in the right position, that isftop down7 as at 76, will, owing to the inclined p'osltion of the belt 45, slide Vright across the fabric until retarded by the stop 58; the pile` n Y or nap having noeifect on the top of the cap, These caps are Aconveyed by the belt until discharged through the chute' 59.

If a ca is deliveredto the transverse belt i wrong si e up, as shown at 77, it is immediately engaged by the nap or pile of the fabric `and carried along with the belt until discharged back into 'the hopper 61 at the point 78 (Fig. 3). If a cap should be delivered to the transverse belt nested within another cap, as shown at 79, both these caps are prevented from crossing the fabric by being retarded by the upper belt 5l. The distance between this belt and the fabric Vbeing such las to just pro-vide space for a single cap. These nested caps Vare also carried back' to the hopper 61, by the fabric 46, for resorting. vIt will thus be seen that only caps with'the right side up are delivered tothe chute 59 and thatk all others are returned to the hopper for resorting.

AHaving described my invention and its op-` eration, what I claim as new and wishto pro- Y tect by Letters Patent is: y

l.v In a device of the class described, apair of pulleys having their axes at anangle with the horizontal line, a conveying belt actuated las by said pulleys, the conveying surface of said belt consisting of a fabric havingy a pile or nap, a stop extending along the lower edge of said belt and terminating in a discharge chute, means for feeding articles onto the upper edge of said belt, and means for actuating said pulleys. f v Y 2. ln a device of the class described, a'pair of pulleys having their axes at an angle with the horizontal line, a conveying belt actuated by said pulleys, the conveying surface of said belt consisting of a fabric having a pile or nap, a stop extending along the lower edge of Said belt and terminating in a discharge chute, a narrower belt located a given distance above the first-mentioned belt and also actuated by two pulleys, and means for actuating all of said pulleys. 9

3. In a device of the class described,a hopper, a bin, a conveyor feeding from said hopper to said bin, a conveying belt traveling through said bin, said conveying belt actuated` by a plurality of rollers in such a manner that a discharge point is formed from which articles will drop from one part to another part of the belt so as to place such articles in the correct position on the belt, a pile-surfaced, transverse belt unto which said conveying belt feedsand means for actuating all of the parts.

4:. vIn a device of the class described, a hop- 1 per, a bin, a conveyor feeding from said hopper kto said bin, a conveying belt traveling through said bin, said conveying belt actuated by a plurality of rollers in such a manner'that a discharge pointis formed from which ar'- ticles will drop from one part to another part of the belt so as to place such articles in the correct position on the belt, a transverse sorting mechanism consisting of a lower pile-surfaced belt and an upper narrower belt into which articles are fed by the conveying belt for final sorting, and means for actuating all of said parts.

5. In a device of the classdescribed, a hopper, a bin, a conveyor feeding from said hopper to said bin, a conveying belt travelingk through said bin, said conveying belt actuated by a plurality of rollers in such a manner that a discharge point is formed from which articles will drop from onepart to another part of the belt so as to vplace such articles in theV correct position on the belt, a transverse sorting mechanism consisting of a lower pile-surfaced belt and an upper narrower belt into which articles are fed by the conveying belt for linal sorting, a chute' for returning all wron ly placed articles to the hopper, and means or actuating all the parts.

ROBERT G. CLARK. 

